Matt Painter, Purdue Basketball Officially Sign Trio in Upcoming Class of 2022
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue coach Matt Painter announced that three high school players have signed their National Letter of Intent to join the team for the 2022-23 college basketball season.
Cam Heide, Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith all submitted paperwork Tuesday to officially become members of the Boilermakers' basketball program. The three players make up a recruiting class that is currently ranked 28th in the country and fifth in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports.
"I think all three of these guys help our competitive spirit and our skill level," Painter said in a Thursday release. "They've all come from winning programs and bring that mentality with them," Painter said. "Their skill level, knowledge of the game and their ability to make players better around them is what really drew us to them."
Welcome to the Purdue family @bsmith72503 @CamdenHeide @FletcherLoyer.
— Purdue’s Matt Painter (@CoachPainter) November 11, 2021
Ready to watch these guys develop this year and become part of our program and great university. pic.twitter.com/KKSyEvq9dZ
Heide, a four-star recruit from Wayzata, Minnesota, led his high school to the 2021 Minnesota State Championship before transferring to Wasatch Academy in Utah this summer. He verbally committed to play for Purdue on June 15, 2021.
The 6-foot-6 forward averaged almost 18 points and six rebounds per game at Wayzata as a junior, and he shot over 40% from 3-point range.
"Cam is someone we recruited for a long time and thought he was a great fit in our program," Painter said. "He is a guy who is athletic, can really shoot the ball and play the big wing spot. He gives us another versatile athlete and shooter that really fits our system."
Loyer, another four-star recruit, led Homestead High School to a 25-1 record and a No. 1 ranking in Indiana as a junior. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 24.4 points, 4.5 assists and 4.9 rebounds last year at Homestead. He shot 44.9% from beyond the arc and 90.3% from the free-throw line.
His brother, Foster, was a member of the Michigan State basketball program before transferring to Davidson before the start of the season. Foster was Michigan's Mr. Basketball in 2018 and Fletcher will be a favorite to be Mr. Basketball in Indiana.
"Fletcher had a great summer on the EYBL circuit and then a phenomenal junior year at Homestead," Painter said. "He can play with the ball in his hands, play out of ball screens and play without the ball. He has a really unique game in that he can make a lot of different shots. He's also an excellent passer. I think he's going to be a very, very good player here."
Smith, the only three-star recruit currently in the upcoming class, led Westfield High School to an 18-5 record and a sectional loss to the eventual state champs, Carmel, and future teammate Brian Waddell.
Purdue was Smith's first high-major offer, and he committed to Painter and the Boilermakers less than a week after receiving the offer. As a junior, he averaged 22.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
"We were very fortunate to be able to get Braden," Painter said. "We weren't able to see him live and we were blown away when we watched him on film with his basketball savvy and tenaciousness. He has an ability to make players better. He can really pass the basketball and has unlimited range. He's extremely crafty on both ends and we feel really good about what he will bring to the program."
Heide, Loyer and Smith will join forwards Waddell and Trey Kaufman-Renn as members of the incoming freshman class after the duo announced their intentions to redshirt this season.
This year's recruiting class, which also included forward Caleb Furst, ranked 38th in the country and eighth in the conference. Furst has worked his way to a starting role for Painter.
"Our staff did a great job in a tough year when we couldn't go on the road recruiting," Painter said. "Looking back to the last class, we did a great job evaluating when we couldn't really watch him much.
"We had really recruited the other two guys (Furst and Kaufman-Renn) for a long time, so we knew all about them, but getting Brian was really big for us. They continued that this year in evaluations and knew this group would be great fits for us."
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.